Yoke wrap

[Browncbr1]

During this down time, I’ve gotten around to wrapping my yokes..   finished the copilot side today.  Thought some of you might want to see for ideas for your own projects.  

The triangle logo plate isn’t done yet.   I’m thinking I’ll just paint some light metal stock and then laser etch the paint off for the details..  my original logo plate is all scratched up.  

[elimansour]

Wow!! That looks fantastic!!

[David_H]

Very impressive. The colors and workmanship look very good.

[Dream to fly]

You could turn that into side work fast. That looks amazing.

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[AH-1 Cobra Pilot]

How much do you charge?

[Robert Hicks]

If you wanna do mine I’ll gladly pay.

[Ross Taylor]

You are an artist and craftsman...certainly.

[The Other Red Baron]

I had to do a double take...

[hammdo]

Very nice for sure!

-Don

[Paul_Havelka]

That’s pretty slick. What was your process? I’m sure some of the CBs out here wouldn’t mind doing it themselves and would love to see or hear about how you accomplished this.


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[Browncbr1]

Thanks for all the props guys (pun intended) 

i started out my career as an industrial designer in the motorcycle apparel industry..  so, I kind of have professional experience that helps, but this really isn’t rocket science.   Just work the leather how you want it and figure out how the hide responds.. every hide is different.  work out the patterns and go at it again with final fit..   I used my cnc laser to etch the hide like I had done on my seats.  It’s fun for me, but is tedious work.   Patience and reworking is required to get good quality.  

 

Edited April 23, 2020 by Browncbr1

[The Other Red Baron]

I don't know how I personally feel about all the brown but man that is some amazing work.

[Paul_Havelka]

I foresee many trips to Knoxville in the future

 

If I end up with the e model I'm eyeing I think we may need to talk...lol.  I love the double stitched diamond pattern in your seats. 

[Paul_Havelka]

You should use your laser to burn your tail number where the mooney emblem goes on your yokes and either just above it put "Captain and Copilot" respectively

I see you even wrapped the door handle.  Nice touch.  My thoughts for an interior would be to have the main color and then do a different inset color with either perforated or suede and then carry that theme through the door panels and then use a suede to cover some of the plastic interior pieces for a little added pop

 

[Browncbr1]

4 minutes ago, The Other Red Baron said:

I don't know how I personally feel about all the brown but man that is some amazing work.

Yea, I really wanted the vintage English pub look though, after all, these planes are antiques!  

[Ross Taylor]

@Browncbr1 that really is beautiful work.

And, where did you get that door warning sticker?  I've searched online but only find a black one from SkyGeek.  I like the bright red...especially after a passenger recently slammed the door before I could warn her.

 

[Browncbr1]

1 minute ago, Creekrat said:

You should use your laser to burn your tail number where the mooney emblem goes on your yokes and either just above it put "Captain and Copilot" respectively

I see you even wrapped the door handle.  Nice touch.  My thoughts for an interior would be to have the main color and then do a different inset color with either perforated or suede and then carry that theme through the door panels and then use a suede to cover some of the plastic interior pieces for a little added pop

 

Pulling from my years of experience designing things, ideas for contrast color blocking work good on certain things and not so much on other things.   For the interior project, I felt that even though other ideas with color might look good on paper, the final result wouldn’t look as good as the concept drawings.  

I did not laser etch anything that is directional because when you work leather over compound surfaces, the surface distorts.   So it would have been too difficult to control perfect quality of the text or logo.  I did edge the executive logo into leather inlays that go on the rear passenger walls, but that is because the leather stays flat and doesn’t need to be worked over anything.  Will try to find a picture of that later.  I also plan to remake a new metal emblem that will go there on the yoke.  The metal badge makes the whole yoke look MUCH better..   (1+1 does not equal 2 in this regard). 

[Paul_Havelka]

2 minutes ago, Ross Taylor said:

@Browncbr1 that really is beautiful work.

And, where did you get that door warning sticker?  I've searched online but only find a black one from SkyGeek.  I like the bright red...especially after a passenger recently slammed the door before I could warn her.

 

If you can't find one then you should be able to order you some white peel and stick vinyl or sticker stock and you can print it via an inkjet printer.

[Browncbr1]

Just now, Ross Taylor said:

@Browncbr1 that really is beautiful work.

And, where did you get that door warning sticker?  I've searched online but only find a black one from SkyGeek.  I like the bright red...especially after a passenger recently slammed the door before I could warn her.

 

That is a thin piece of aluminum that was screen printed.   It’s light enough to bend to conform to the wall contours with double sided tape.  The holes are there from the previous owner’s.    I could have laser etched this, but I wanted bright red and white text.   The contrast of red with silver or gold text wasn’t all that great.   Laser etching metal is best if background base color is black.  

[RLCarter]

@Browncbr1 Nice work, the Mooney logos etched in some of the leather really sets it apart. Curious about the Motorcycle  Apparel company

[carusoam]

Awesome art, Mr. Brown! 

I have seen some art get adjusted on a screen in 2D to be printed on 3D things like packaging containers...

Conic shapes like drink cups, rectangular shapes like some deli containers... printing around corners is a challenge...

That would take a lot of Adobe experience I think...

Thanks for sharing the details!

Best regards,

-a-

[Browncbr1]

6 hours ago, carusoam said:

Awesome art, Mr. Brown! 

I have seen some art get adjusted on a screen in 2D to be printed on 3D things like packaging containers...

Conic shapes like drink cups, rectangular shapes like some deli containers... printing around corners is a challenge...

That would take a lot of Adobe experience I think...

Thanks for sharing the details!

Best regards,

-a-

The etching process is done on flat leather, then the leather is wrapped over the surface.   When you’re working the leather over the surface, the hide stretches in some places and distorts the surface.  You end up with curvy and warped text if you aren’t very careful.   

Etching on a cylinder is possible if your machine has a 3rd spindle axis.  The cnc software calculates everything from the 2d Art.  Mine does not, it’s just 2 axis.  Also, a laser has a focal point, so whatever is being etched must be a consistent distance from the mirror.  There is also not enough room to fit the yoke in the bed under the gimble.  

[Browncbr1]

Messing around with the laser today.  Instead of bothering with priming my own aluminum to etch, I stopped by the trophy store and got the guy to sell me some of his light stock that is ready to go.   I experimented and found that a little less amperage and higher speed kind of gives a slight warm hue to the silver, which kind of goes better with my brown interior.   I didn’t like the original artwork, so I made my own simple art with tail number.  

[Browncbr1]

Attached badge.  Hopefully a decent looking yoke will distract from my aweful work in process copilot side panel!

[Danb]

On 4/23/2020 at 4:58 PM, Browncbr1 said:

Thanks for all the props guys (pun intended) 

i started out my career as an industrial designer in the motorcycle apparel industry..  so, I kind of have professional experience that helps, but this really isn’t rocket science.   Just work the leather how you want it and figure out how the hide responds.. every hide is different.  work out the patterns and go at it again with final fit..   I used my cnc laser to etch the hide like I had done on my seats.  It’s fun for me, but is tedious work.   Patience and reworking is required to get good quality.  

 

Sweet.